The principal objectives of the committee are the investigation of the organization of area, exploration of the earth environment and of its interactions with human life, and inquiry into the geographical dimensions of cultures and societies. The research interests of the committee's faculty include:
Urban organization and change: Urban origins; the evolution of urban networks and systems of cities, ancient and modern, western and non-western; the changing spatial structure, social organization, and morphology of urban areas; problems of urban allocation and planning; regionalism in American urban life; emergence of new metropolitan and non-metropolitan settlement patterns in advanced societies.
Regional studies: Historical and thematic approaches to regional structure, particularly of North America and the Middle East; theory of the region; the origin and development of regional character; locality and place-making; nature and culture in regional settings; comparative study of regions.
Cultural foundations of nation-building: The ethno-religious bases of the nation-state; evolving regionalism and culture; the geographical significance of territoriality; national and regional boundary conflicts; minorities and cultural autonomy; linguistic policies of the state; multicultural development strategies; international and transnational management of ethnic conflict; cultural roots of self-determination.
Landscape studies: Landscape as an embodiment and shaper of social values and attitudes towards environment; theories of landscape structure and change; the historical development and regional construction of landscapes; thematic landscapes; the role of institutions in environmental design and management; aesthetic landscape values; landscape and the sense of place; comparative landscape analysis.
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